EMPEROR OF THE WASTELANDS

Cover illustration for When True Night Falls by C.S. Friedman

Dec 05, 2024

A menacing figure stands on the husk of a dead alien tree in a bleak wasteland. He's dressed in ornate purple and black robes with hood drawn up. His gloved hands reach out to the bone white limbs that frame him. The ground is black and strewn with human bones. The sky is a mix of acidic orange and gray-purple. — EMPEROR OF THE WASTELANDS (1993), Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 32" x 20"

For the Coldfire Trilogy, I set all the main characters within a framework of strange and exotic trees. In this second cover, the master surveys the stark landscape of the wastelands and the art reflects the death and destruction in the bare and bone-like trees.

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Additional images from EMPEROR OF THE WASTELANDS

LEFT: Detail from EMPEROR OF THE WASTELANDS featuring a menacing figure standing on the husk of a dead alien tree in a bleak wasteland. With gloved hands he reaches out to the bone white limbs. In places the branches form a lattice. RIGHT: Close detail from EMPEROR OF THE WASTELANDS featuring a menacing figure in black over purple robes. A hood covers his blonde hair and a circlet reflect bronze. — Details from EMPEROR OF THE WASTELANDS

*When True Night Falls* by C.S. Friedman (DAW)

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A trio of framed prints in black wood moulding. — The Coldfire Trilogy is available as a set

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David Alastair Hayden

Dec 5

I love those! The books and the covers. I still have the paperbacks. And I still remember where I was when I read them… 30ish years ago. I purchased the first book based on the cover. Same time as the Dragonbone Chair. Both of those series ended up being super influential for my writing career.

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